


Disconnected

by HPfanonezillion



Series: Peeta Paints on Katniss [3]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt, Pain, Painting, post flashback, toastbabies - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 07:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6603067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HPfanonezillion/pseuds/HPfanonezillion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a violent flashback, Katniss demands Peeta healing both of them with paint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Disconnected

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on my Tumblr booksrockmyface. The title comes from the Veridia song Disconnected.

     It was a particularly volatile flashback. After gripping a chair and gritting his teeth trying to fight it off, Peeta picked up the chair and threw it across the room. Several other things in the kitchen followed, plates and cups crashing against the wall and scattering glass all over the room. His shouts rang through the house.

     Breaking herself out of her momentary fear, Katniss quickly ushered their children out the door. “Go to Hazelle and Haymitch.”

     Lily took Reed’s hand and quickly walked across the street. Katniss wished that her nine-year-old had not seen quite so many of these outbursts as she had in her short life. Reed, at four, was still a little more oblivious when these things happened, but they were still frightening when he encountered them. It was mostly thanks to Lily’s protective nature that she’d inherited from her mother that Reed didn’t see most of the horror of their father’s flashbacks. Peeta sometimes still raged at the top of his voice on his bad days. Most of the time he could break himself out of these episodes, but they sometimes got bad like today.

     As soon as their children were out the door, Katniss stepped in front of him and raised her hands in an attempt to get his attention, but Peeta grabbed her wrists and pressed her hard against the wall.

     His face suddenly shifted from anger to fear. He reeled backward, covering his mouth. "Katniss, I..." He looked around. "Where are the kids?"

     "Haymitch and Hazelle's." She said tentatively.

     He nodded. "Are they scared?"

     She indicated the wreckage. "What do you think?"

     "Katniss..." He swallowed and shook his head. "What can I do?"

     Katniss assessed the damage and then walked out of the room. She heard Peeta mumbling to himself as she gathered his paints from his studio. She stepped back into the kitchen and slammed the art supplies on the table. She bared her arms and demanded, "Fix it, Peeta."

     He opened and closed his mouth several times before he knelt down and started to mix paint. She stood still for several minutes as a group of Katniss plants materialized on her right arm. He was just starting on some reeds and lilies on the other arm when the front door opened and their children stepped in slowly, Haymitch just behind them.

     "You okay?" The older man asked, his hands protectively on the kids' shoulders.

     Katniss looked over at the group and gave them a reassuring smile. "We're fine."

     Peeta continued to work, but managed a weak smile at the children. "Who wants to be next?"

     Reed ran forward and held out his arm. "Me, Daddy."

     "Lily?" He asked softly, finishing with Katniss.

     The girl blinked a few times and then shook her head, wrapping het arms around Haymitch's waist and pressing her face into his chest. Haymitch patted her back. "Hazelle wants you to come for supper."

     Katniss looked over the plants that covered her arms, still glistening in the evening light. "Lily, why don't you go help Hazelle finish supper?" She smoothed a hand over her daughter's hair. “I’ll start cleaning up here.” She kissed Lily’s forehead and gave Haymitch a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

     Haymitch swung Lily onto his back. “No problem.” He looked toward Reed. “Hazelle wanted you to try out the cookies, remember?”

     Reed nodded enthusiastically and looked down at the puppy his father had painted on his wrist. “Thanks, Daddy!” He ran out the door in front of Haymitch, calling for Hazelle as he went.

     Peeta started cleaning up his paints, avoiding Katniss’s expectant look. He said softly, “I’m sorry.”

     She stepped forward and reached out to touch his cheek. He flinched and she dropped her hand like it held a weight. “I love you. Real. Really real.”

     He gently grabbed her wrists to examine his work and she could feel him trembling. “I should never grab you like that.”

     “You weren’t you.” She said softly.

     He shook his head. “Lily was right there.” He pointed toward the living room. “She was just asking a simple question that I can’t even remember now and then everything went black.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed his eyes into her shoulder. “Katniss, I heard them begging me to be okay and it didn’t help.” He sobbed heavily as she stroked her hands over his hair and hummed The Valley Song softly.

     She eventually moved away and lifted his face up to look at her. “Are you okay?”

     “I hate having Lily look at me like that?” He leaned his head against hers. “And I don’t ever want Reed to start being scared of me too.”

     “They love you. More than they realize. They’ll be okay as long as you let them know you don’t do this because of them.” Katniss slanted a kiss over Peeta’s lips. “Come on. I heard there are cookies.”

     He grinned. “Mine are better.”

     “Of course they are.” She slipped her hand into his. “We’ll clean this up later.”

     He nodded and followed her out the door. Their hands barely parted for the rest of the night.


End file.
